August ninth marked the observance of National Book Lovers Day, a day that encourages people to put down their devices (unless that device is an e-reader I suppose) and read a book!
I am currently reading around three and a half books:
- Women Who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes (a reread – but this time I’m taking notes)
- Pilgrimage to Dollywood by Helen Morales
- Women & Power, a Manifesto by Mary Beard
- The Dharma Bums by Jack Keroac (this is another re-read and I’m not feeling that into it, I may put it back on the shelf)
Some books I have read recently that I really enjoyed:
- Dreyer’s English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer (yes, it is a grammar/English usage book and yes, I laughed out loud many times while reading it)
- Range, Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein (I felt my entire existence was vindicated)
- Circe by Madeline Miller (spoiler – I didn’t love how it ended)
- Antigone Rising by Helen Morales (if you have two X chromosomes, this might get you riled up)
- How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
- Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver (see, sometimes I read fiction; a suggestion from a friend)
- City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (see, more fiction; another suggestion from another friend)
As much as I love books and I love to read, I don’t love to keep ALL the books in my house. I was really into Larry McMurtry for a while; I had pretty much every book that he had written through 1998 or so and in the course of one move I got rid of all of them. I’ve only read one new Larry McMurtry book since then, but I loved it so much I’m almost feeling like I need to get my paws on a new copy of Lonesome Dove or Terms of Endearment. But I’m also trying to make a point of reading women authors, so revisiting Larry McMurtry may have to wait a little longer.
Much like all the cat holidays, I feel like National Book Lovers Day can be celebrated year-round. Here are some ways to celebrate National Book Lovers Day any day of the year:
- Read a book!
- Pass a book along to a friend.
- Return a book that you borrowed from a friend.
- Buy a book from your local, independent bookstore. Or any independent bookstore (they all ship). Page Against the Machine is my favorite independent bookstore here in Long Beach (I might know the owner). Chris carries an excellently curated selection of new and used books in the political and social justice genres. However, he also is very happy to custom order any title that you are looking for.
- Order a custom bookstack watercolor for yourself or a friend. Trying to think of what books I would want for my bookstack gives me anxiety, but if you know what you would pick, check out the Etsy shop of my friend Kiersten: ShortstackByKiersten.
What books would you put in your shortstack?
Images by @kiershort_art
Did you or are you going to celebrate National Book Lovers Day? What are you reading now? Any suggestions of books to check out?